Hernandez 1 Velia Hernandez Professor Gifford English 114B 28 April 2014 Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was

born on July 18, 1918 into an imperial family who belonged to the Xhosa- speaking Thimbu tribe in the village of Mvezo in South Africa. Little did the world know the extensive changes and impact this individual would create in South Africa. Although he is generally known for the being the first black president of South Africa, he served as a leader for the fight against the political system. Despite being a political prisoner for twenty seven years, Nelson Mandelas perseverance impacted South Africa by eliminating the racial oppressiveness of the apartheid regime that was taking place at that time. His father, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa obliged as the chief of the tribe and his mother, Nosekeni Fanny, was one of the four wives that Gadla had. In 1927, the father of Mandela passed away and young Mandela then became a ward of Jongintaba Dalindyebo, a Thembu regent who taught him about tribal leadership. As a child, Mandela fulfilled his primary education at a nearby missionary school. At this missionary school was where his teacher gave him the name of Nelson because it was a custom to give the African students English names. After primary school, Mandela attended a secondary school called Clarkebury Boarding Institute and Healdtown. At his secondary school he was an incredibly intelligent student and performed his best in all his academic areas. After completing his basic education, he enrolled and attended the University of Fort Hare. This university was the only foundation for blacks in South Africa during that time. While it was great accomplishment for Mandela, the excitement did not last long because he was

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expelled from the institution for participating in a protest. Despite the unexpected incidence, Mandela went back to school and earned his bachelors degree and later studied law in the University of Witwatersrand. At the university he began participating in a movement in opposition to racial discrimination and 1944 he joined the African National Congress and helped establish the ANC Youth League. The same year Mandela joined the ANC, he also married a nurse named Evelyn Mase with whom he had four children. Their marriage did not last long though and resulted in their separation in 1955 and divorce in 1958. The union of Nelson Mandela to the ANC was an exceedingly important event. This event would mark the beginning of numerous happenings that would bring Mandela into the spotlight. Not only was he going to be known in South Africa but also worldwide. During his time in the ANC, Mandela participated in many events that would eventually lead to his incarceration. As the ANCYL began to expand, the ANC thought it would be great idea to incorporate the ideas of the ANCYL. These ideas included strategy for the attainment of the complete citizenship for the South Africans. The plan was to be accomplished through a variety of resources which included strikes, boycotts, and civil disobedience. As Mandela became more and more involved with the ANC and ANCYL, he decided to be the leader of the Campaign for the Defiance of Unjust Laws, which took place in 1952. A few years later it became known that the ANC was prohibited due to the decision of the white minority government. Infuriated by this decision, Mandela made the decision to begin a military underground movement. Because of his decision, Mandela was arrested in 1962 and was sentenced to a life in prison due to treason and conspiracy. Once sentenced Mandela said, I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs

Hernandez 3 be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die. These last words were later to be put into practice because he didnt give up on what he had once proposed. Nelson Mandela spent twenty seven years of his life in a prison cell. The majority of the time, Mandela completed his sentence at the Robben Island Prison and spent the remaining years of his imprisonment at the Pollsmoor Prison. A few years later he was moved to house arrest. In 1989 President F.W. de Klerk raised the prohibition of the ANC and demanded the liberation of Mandela the next year. Throughout his time behind bars, Mandela continued fighting for the rights of the oppressed in South Africa. Although he was presented different offers, Mandela denied all of them and kept his stance. Some of the offers were for Mandela to accept the Transkei Bantustan and reject any violence. If he accepted these offers and did as the government wanted, Mandela would be released from prison but none of these offers appealed to him and he rejected them. As leader of the ANC, Mandela was well aware of what he was fighting for and what he wanted to occur in South Africa. Though he knew it wasnt going to be simple he kept striving for what he wanted and kept in mind the oppression of his people. His time in prison made him the most famous political prisoner in the world. His release from imprisonment proceeded with his leadership in the ANC. With Nelson continuing with his leadership, a great movement would approach not only for Mandela but for all South Africans. His movement and appreciation of his people earned him the Nobel Peace Prize along with the President F.D. de Klerk. The following year millions of South Africans voted in the very first multiracial elections and voted for the ANC as the leader of the country. As a result of this, a month later Nelson Mandela became the first black president of South Africa. As his presidency began, Mandela introduced the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

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This introduction would serve as a method for investigating violations of the apartheid towards human rights and political abuses. Following this introduction, Mandela presented several economic and social programs in order increase the living situations of the South Africans.